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Best medication for headaches

Even
though conditions such as migraines, tension and cluster headaches have become
fairly common, the changes accompanying them, and biological in origin, are yet to be fully comprehended and
made known. But numerous studies and researches done on this subject, revealed
that some of the factors which are most common “meddlers”. The first on the
list are changes in neurotransmitters, most of all in serotonin levels. Lack or
excess in this neurotransmitter results in headaches, mostly chronic in
nature. Next are inflammations which occur in the vicinity of our blood
vessels and nerves situated in our head. Muscle tension which, even though
it contributes to headaches, is rarely the main culprit,and is also on the list.

Medications
employed in headache treatment are supposed to aid in the following: providing
stability to blood vessels, reducing muscle tension, limiting and stopping
inflammations, mimicking serotonin effects. Medications, as such, do not provide a
lot of help in treating headaches and similar conditions, but the fact remains
that they are most effective if we combine them with certain other therapies
involving appropriate diet, proper sleep, plenty of exercise and stress
management.

The
following medications give particularly good results when treating various
types of headaches: corticosteroids, which decrease inflammation in the area
around blood vessels when headache occurs; antihistamines, which relieve
intense pain, diminish nausea, prevent unwanted side effects of other
medications; abortive medicines, which have the potential to prevent, reverse
or ameliorate an occurring or headache that has just begun. Muscle relaxants release
the tension in muscles and blocks body’s sense of pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
medications reduce inflammation and pain, and triptans imitate serotonin and
restore the proper size of blood vessels, which is why all of them can be used
in treating headaches.

For
treating the more intensive cluster headaches abortive drugs are used as well.
Most of all anesthetics (liquid cocaine and lidocaine which prevent nerves to
send pain signals) and oxygen (inhaling additional oxygen can initiate changes
in our blood vessels which can bring headache attacks to a halt).

Aside
from these drugs, effective are also preventive ones. They are known to reduce
the occurrence rate, seriousness and duration of headaches. People who are
especially in need of them are those who experience more than 3 headaches in
the course of the month, those whom these medications don’t provide consistent
relief and those who are practically paralyzed when under the headache.

Another
very important fact is that preventive medications can add up to the overall
effectiveness of the abortive medications. Also it should be always kept in
mind that almost all medications which are employed in treating headaches, can
be used for treating conditions similar in nature.